Exposure to moderate concentrations of tropospheric ozone impairs tree stomatal response to carbon dioxide

Abstract

With rising concentrations of both atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and tropospheric ozone (O3), it is important to better understand the interacting effects of these two trace gases on plant physiology affecting land-atmosphere gas exchange. We investigated the effect of growth under elevated CO2 and O3, singly and in combination, on the primary short-term stomatal response to CO2 concentration in paper birch at the Aspen FACE experiment. Leaves from trees grown in elevated CO2 and/or O3 exhibited weaker short-term responses of stomatal conductance to both an increase and a decrease in CO2 concentration from current ambient level. The impairement of the stomatal CO2 response by O3 most likely developed progressively over the growing season as assessed by sap flux measurements. Our results suggest that expectations of plant water-savings and reduced stomatal air pollution uptake under rising atmospheric CO2 may not hold for northern hardwood forests under concurrently rising tropospheric O3.